


You're my (sting)ray of sunshine.

by starrywons



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 06:52:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16868188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrywons/pseuds/starrywons
Summary: Zhu Zhengting is the keeper of the stingrays in Beijing aquarium and loves his job teaching children about the wonders of the ocean, there's only one part of his job he hates. Shark handler Lin Yanjun. The pair are constantly bickering until one day Yanjun brings his little niece to the aquarium to visit and they have to play nice but Zhengting realizes that Yanjun's not as bad as he thought...





	You're my (sting)ray of sunshine.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meiqis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/gifts).



> sooooooo this should've been done and up in november but i'm a terrible human being and in between work, school and me just being a lazy dumbass its taken till now to finish and post........ anyway this is an i n c r e d i b l y belated birthday present for my lovely chii, who i can honestly say is probably the sole reason for me even getting back into writing again so let's all say thank you chii, not only is she an incredible writer (seriously go check out @meiqis like NOW) but shes also an incredible friend and getting to know her this past 6 months or so has honestly been the most wonderful experience and i'm so happy to have met somebody like her! so thank you chii! i'm sorry this is so late and that i'm such a shit procrastinator but i hope this was worth your wait uwu
> 
> this is somewhat inspired by my trip to busan sealife back in september where the cutest girl in the world took me around the aquarium by the hand as she excitedly explained about all the fish the best she could in english and my gayness increased by ten thousand, but also my love of anything to do with the ocean (both of my zhengjun aus are ocean themed but i can't say i'm mad) all fish facts are either googled, from memory of what aquarium girl told me or exaggerated so if you're looking for accuracy its probably not here my dudes, its also not proofread because i'm lazy so if theres anything massively noticeable pls hit me up, that being said i hope you enjoy it!!

Zhengting loves his job. He loves seeing the happy smiles of the children who come to his little area. Loves crouching to their level, their tiny hands in his as they dip under the water to touch a shimmering fish or cradle a baby hermit crab. Loves seeing the wonder light up in their eyes as they watch his beautiful family of stingrays glide through their tank, their hands outstretched to stroke over the backs of their fins as they streak past. He loves taking care of his babies, making sure the water in their tanks is the correct temperature, feeding them and giving them the touch and comfort they need. This little area is his home away from home, all brightly coloured and teaming with life, it makes Zhengting feel energized, knowing that he can have such a positive impact on these cute, inquisitive children, that his work was so fulfilling and his life so enriched. For Zhengting, there was nothing that could change his mind about his job and there would be nothing that could make him hate it either-

 

“Morning, nerd”

 

-Ok, scratch that, there was  _ one _ thing that had him questioning whether his life’s passion was truly worth it. Rolling his eyes, Zhengting turned from the temperature gauges he was inspecting towards the greatest source of his annoyances, already Zhengting wanted to smack the smug smirk off his face or better yet dunk his perfectly styled head into the crab tank he was stood next to and watch his tiny babies pinch his ears, but he realised that purposefully trying to drown your co-worker was probably frowned upon and as much as he couldn’t stand him he still loved his job after all. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to smile,

 

“Good morning Yanjun, don’t you have other things to be doing right now?”

 

“What and miss my chance to see Sealife’s greatest babysitter set up his little preschool?”

 

Gritting his teeth Zhengting turned back around to continue his jobs for the morning, looking at Lin Yanjun’s stupid face for more than 10 seconds really didn’t help his overwhelming feelings of wanting to slamdunk his head into the closest water tank, plus there was the fact he was already a little behind his usual schedule thanks to traffic this morning and Zhengting just really couldn’t be bothered. He could hear footsteps coming up behind him and he was resisting the urge to jab him in the ribs with the pool brush he had hold of when he could hear the rippling of water from the main tanks, watching his babies glide around their home made all Zhengting’s feelings of anger roll over and disappear like a soft wave and he couldn’t help the slow smile that spread across his face. Swapping his brush for a bucket of food he grabbed his step ladders and swung himself into the shallow pool, he was aware of Yanjun’s eyes trailing him as he waded through the water, his cute little family of stingrays crowding around his legs but Zhengting tried not to pay him any mind, he wasn’t even sure why he was still hanging around, no doubt it was to make some more snide comments about how his job was so much more dangerous and cool than Zhengting’s but for once Zhengting was just glad he was quiet, no matter how unnerving it was for him to be watching as Zhengting slowly started to feed his children. Zhengting always thought stingrays had the cutest little faces, they constantly looked like they were smiling and they never failed to lift Zhengting’s mood. 

 

“I just don’t understand why you love them so much-” Zhengting looked up, pulling a face as Yanjun started speaking again, “-I mean, look at them, they look so dumb” 

 

Zhengting’s mouth dropped open, and he straightened up, the fish that was still is his grip flopping from one side to the other as his hands waved about aimlessly in his anger.

 

“Excuse me?! How could you even say they look dumb when you have a face that looks like that-” Yanjun laughed, eyebrow raising, “-just because they’re cute and docile, not like your horrendous beasts doesn’t mean that they’re dumb, Cownose Rays are actually quite clever I’ll have you know!”

 

Yanjun was laughing again, stepping closer to the tank and watching as a ray glided over to him curiously, Zhengting watched as he went to dip a hand into the water to brush his fingertips along the back of the baby ray, a satisfied smirk spreading across his lips when in the ray’s excitement she had jumped upwards and soaked Yanjun in pool water, Zhengting openly laughed as Yanjun shook his now dripping hair and scowled in the direction of the now fleeing ray. The baby swam back to Zhengting’s side where he reached his hand under the water and gave her the fish he still had in his hand, a reward for showing that smug asshole a taste of his own medicine, no one calls his babies dumb and gets away with it. 

 

“I think that might be your cue to leave now Yanjun?” Zhengting’s eyes were bright, not even bothering to conceal his laughter, Yanjun just grimaced in his direction, warm water spreading over his nice shirt and dripping slightly onto the floor.

 

“Well you know what they say, animals take after their owners and clearly your rays are just as dumb and as petty as you are” Zhengting balled up his fists, trying his hardest not to just dive out of the tank and tackle Yanjun to the ground, instead he watched silently as he headed towards the door, squeezing the remaining moisture from his collar and running his hands through his now ruined hair, just before he passed through the arch he turned back to Zhengting, smirking again, 

 

“Besides, you know as well as I do that sharks are infinitely cooler than  _ stingrays _ ” he lazily flicked his arm up, “Catch you later nerd”

 

Zhengting let out a silent scream, cursing all the gods that were listening for giving him the perfect job but with such an infuriating downside. He probably would’ve raged about it all day, recounting the whole morning to his section coworker Zhangjing who had the unfortunate status of being friends with them both, but then he felt the nudges at his knees and he smiled again, that’s right, he had more important things to think about right now, he wouldn’t see Yanjun again until the end of the day since luckily they worked on opposite ends of the aquarium and there wasn’t that much time left until opening hours and he had to make sure everything was perfect before Zhangjing arrived, they prided themselves on being the most loved experience by the children after all.  

 

The afternoon had gone by swimmingly, they had had a few groups of school children in today and that always made for an exciting shift, kids shouting out questions left and right, begging to be at the front to see the turtles in the tanks and his favourite time of the day, seeing them hopping around, excitement too much for them to handle as they line up to touch the stingrays, all the Lin Yanjuns in the world couldn't make Zhengting hate this part of his job (as he kept repeatedly telling Zhangjing who just rolled his eyes every time), so what if he thought he was a glorified babysitter, this had to be way more rewarding than just swimming round in a tank a few times a day feeding horrible sharks. Kids were cute, they had so many interesting ideas and questions and they look around Zhengting’s area with eyes filled of wonder, Lin Yanjun was just heartless and Zhengting had no time for someone like that. The tannoy sounded, the announcement signalling the final shark feeding time before the closure of the aquarium in 30 some minutes, Zhengting looked upwards to the direction of the speaker unaware that Zhangjing was watching him curiously, it had been a while since Zhengting had gotten to see the shark feeding, usually he shied away from it, too violent and dangerous for him to truly enjoy but he couldn't help the nagging thoughts in his head that were telling him he should go, should see what the great Yanjun was all about after all, whether his claims that the children liked his show best were true or not. Zhangjing stifled a laugh behind him,

 

“You should go if you're that curious,” Zhengting snapped round fixing him with a disapproving stare, “What, I'm just saying, it’s been a while since you took time to watch any of the other shows, you're always caught up here, and before you say anything-” Zhangjing cut off whatever Zhengting had been about to say, wanting to at least finish his sentence for once, “- I know that you love your job here but sometimes it's good to see what the others are doing” Zhengting sighed, Zhangjing was right it  _ had _ been a while since he'd been able to see any of the other shows and sure he hated the shark tank (and Yanjun) but he had friends involved in that show and it'd be nice to see them in action again rather than just in the break room or after a shift. He nodded in Zhangjing’s general direction,

 

“Yeah I guess you're right, I haven't seen Ziyi in show for a while and he always bugs me about it, so I should go I guess” He ignored Zhangjing's sarcastic hum and headed towards the tunnel which would take him through the aquarium to the shark tanks,

 

“Say hi to Yanjun for me!” Zhengting flipped Zhangjing off without looking and continued on. The rest of the aquarium was truly beautiful and Zhengting tended to forget, always cooped up in the discover section, tending to his cute aquatic children or bugging Zhangjing but watching the other species float around gracefully in the huge tanks made him remember exactly what it was he loved about this job so much, tiny fluorescent jellyfish being lit in a rainbow of colours puffing to and fro around in the water, giant sea crabs scuttling around through the sand and rocks almost in slow motion, electric eels lurking in pipes and between cracks in rocks only to dart out quickly and disappear from sight when you get too close. It was peaceful at this time too, just before closing when there was no one else around, Zhengting could take his time, hands drifting from glass front to glass front smiling as a cluster of bright orange clownfish trailed along with his fingertips but it wasn't long until he reached the huge tank at the end of the aquarium, the scale was unthinkable and it spanned even more distance than the public could see, with it spreading into the staff only sections, giving the fish time to breathe away from being on show. As much as Zhengting hated to admit it Yanjun was right, the viewing area was just as packed as when his discovery section is in its peak, kids sat on parents laps, chattering at a mile a minute, fidgeting with excitement every time a shark swam past, in the far corner of the tank he could see Ziyi setting up, making sure the guidance poles he needed were sturdy enough and that his suit was fully zipped and ready to go, he spotted Zhengting at the back somehow and flashed him a smile, free hand coming up to wave slightly, Zhengting smiled back, raising his hand, unfortunately this exchange didn't go unnoticed and from next to Ziyi a head popped round the corner, Zhengting could see his smirk from a mile away and seriously considered just turning round and going back to punch Zhangjing for making him agree to this but Yanjun just blew him a sarcastic kiss and disappeared back behind the tanks blind spot. Zhengting just huffed as Ziyi sent him an apologetic laugh, and then the lights started to dim, the announcer telling a great tale of sharks and whatever else, Zhengting wasn't really listening all that much having heard this a few times before, instead he was more focused on the blurry figures dropping into the tank and the sharks starting to swarm, suddenly the lights went back up and the kids starting clapping with anticipation, all eyes fixed on the 3 divers at the front of the tank, Zhengting immediately recognised Ziyi, floating to Yanjun’s left, pole in hand, eyes scanning the sharks in case they decided to get too close (not that Zhengting was secretly hoping one of them would just chomp Yanjun's head off so he'd be rid of him) and the one on the left looked a little like Xukun although Zhengting was sure today was supposed to be his day off since he and Yanjun usually took turns in show days. A startled gasp brought him back to attention as he watched a shark swim right up to Yanjun and snatch the dead fish from the space in front of him, Zhengting couldn't help but flinch when he saw how close the sharks jaws were to Yanjun and the more the show went on the more he found himself being sucked into the atmosphere, hands flying up to his mouth when one got a little to close only to be guided off by Ziyi, clapping with everyone else when Yanjun cast out the final fish and watched it be caught in the huge mouth of a shark. After the show had been finished and the crowds started filtering out slowly, Zhengting swiped his keycard and pushed into the staff section, he rounded the corner and was greeted by Ziyi's flushed face and bright smile, he was rubbing a towel through his hair and chatting to the announcer (Zhengting really had to ask her name) when he spotted Zhengting shuffling through.

 

“Hey bro! You made it! You haven't been to a show in ages, it's good to see you” Ziyi went to pull him in for a hug before realising that he was still in his dripping wetsuit and he laughed sheepishly, a lock clicked from the side and Ziyi turned towards the sound,

 

“Hang on one sec bro, let me just change then we'll talk yeah?” Zhengting smiled and nodded, it'd been too long since he'd managed to chat with Ziyi properly but he knew first hand how gross it was to stand around in a wetsuit for ages, he looked around as he waited unaware of the fact that the only reason Ziyi could go and change now was only because someone had  _ left _ the changing room.

 

“You look like you were having fun out there nerd” Zhengting groaned and turned to face his favourite person in this world (not), Zhengting hated how good he still looked even after being

in a tank full of sharks, when his hair was wet he looked like a drowned rat but Yanjun looked like he was about to start filming a wet hair commercial, wait that sounds dumb, Yanjun was smirking again, almost as if he could hear Zhengting's dumb musings and he was seriously starting to wish his stupids sharks had a preference for the taste of over confident, smirking idiots, because it would really solve all of Zhengting’s issues. 

 

“Are you here to finally admit that sharks are cooler and that I have always been right?” Zhengting rolled his eyes, 

 

“As if, I still think your job is stupid and is gonna get you killed but whatever you say” Yanjun laughed and three an arm around Zhengting’s shoulders, steering him towards the backs tanks where Zhengting knew there'd be sharks.

 

“Oh no, don't take me anywhere near those monsters, I'm perfectly fine where I am thanks.”

 

“Oh but come on babe, surely you're at least curious”

 

“No I'd really rather not die thanks” Yanjun sighed, dropping his arm and raising his eyebrow,

 

“You know they wouldn't hurt you while I'm around don't you nerd?” Zhengting grimaced, taking a few steps back,

 

“I still don't trust them, just like I don't trust you not to try and feed me to them!” Zhengting pretended not to see the hurt flash through Yanjun's eyes, not wanted to dwell on what it could mean and instead thanking all his lucky stars when Ziyi came out from the dressing room and called him over, as he turned away from Yanjun to go to Ziyi's side missed the flash of jealousy that crossed over Yanjun's face, instead feeling a hand clap on his back as Yanjun headed to the further most shark tanks,

 

“Well, see you later nerd, my niece is coming down this weekend and for some reason she's desperate to see the stingrays so i’m expecting you to wow her with all your dumb nerd knowledge,” Zhengting's face dropped “as for you Ziyi I'll see you next week yeah?” Ziyi nodded and said something about next weeks schedule but Zhengting's brain had already switched off, he was going to have to play nice with  _ Lin Yanjun _ for a whole fews  _ hours?! _ He barely even registered as Ziyi started speaking to him again and only came to when his hand was being waved in his face, Ziyi throwing him a worried glance and asking if he was ok. Zhengting tried to laugh it off as if his whole world hadn't just come crashing down just with the mere thought of having to be nice to Yanjun, and luckily Ziyi seemed to buy it well since he just smiled and tugged on Zhengting's arm rambling on about his day and where they should get some dinner, oblivious to Zhengting's major freak out, thanking god for cute but dumb boys he just let himself be led out of the aquarium with the promise of good food and good company, he could just about put off the impending trauma for the days to come, for a little while at least.

 

* * *

 

 

Zhengting was bouncing on the balls of his feet, the area had been cleaned and checked again and again, all of Zhengting’s nervous energy spurring him into hyper work mode, making him triple check everything for no apparent reason other than his major concern. Lin Yanjun's visit. Sure Zhengting knew he could just ignore Yanjun and focus on his niece but what if his niece was just a little copy of him? Kids could be assholes too and Zhengting didn't think he could handle two of them… It was 5 minutes till opening and Zhengting's palms were sweating already, he can't believe that out of all the days Zhangjing could've had off it had to be today leaving him with two trainees, all of which was just making sure that when Yanjun got here he'd make a beeline for him, especially since he never trusts trainees as it is so he definitely wouldn't be collaring one to entertain his niece. 1 minute left now and Zhengting unconsciously found himself checking his hair in the reflection of the tank, he wasn't entirely sure why but he felt like he needed to make a good impression, he saw the hands of clock signal 10am out of the corner of his eyes and he took a deep breath to calm himself, after all why was he so nervous about this? Yanjun’s niece or not she was still and child and that was Zhengting's forte, he was good with kids, they loved him, he was the reason why the discovery zone had been voted the best zone in the aquarium for the 5 years he had been here, the results were unquestionable, so  _ why _ did his heart leap into his throat when he saw Yanjun and the pretty little girl he was carrying enter into his area. Yanjun raised his hand in a lazy wave and made his way over to where Zhengting stood, the girl in his arms squirming a bit as she tried to get a look around the area,

 

“Morning nerd, I hope you’re prepared, Jinna’s already been asking me about 5 million questions but I don’t know much about whatever it is you care for here so I told her to wait to ask you” Yanjun shrugged and bent over to let the wiggling girl, Jinna, down and his eyes softened as he watched her potter over to one of the touch tanks, little hands grasping the side and stretching up on her tippy toes to see the tiny creatures scuttling and swimming around inside. Yanjun turned to Zhengting, dropping his voice quieter, so Jinna couldn’t hear, 

 

“She’s a little shy, she might not even really ask you anything so if you can just I don’t know, list of all the facts you know? Just, try and answer everything she might ask even if she doesn’t you know?” Zhengting looked over at the girl and smiled, she was really cute, her hair tied back in a ponytail with a few stray strands dangling towards the water, looking back at Yanjun he could see emotion he never thought possible shining in his eyes, he actually looked fond, soft even, like this little girl held some kind of power over him that stripped away his arrogant and annoying personality and Zhengting couldn’t help the little flush when Yanjun realised he’d been staring and quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, uh, yeah of course I will. I’ll make sure she has the best day ever ok?” Yanjun just smiled and nodded, jerking his head slightly to indicate that a pair of bright eyes were looking over curiously, watching them carefully but also shining with unasked questions about the creatures just ever so slightly out of her reach. Zhengting smiled as he made his way over, crouching down to her level and holding out his hand,

 

“Hi Jinna! I’m Zhengting, your uncle’s um, friend, and I take care of all the animals in this zone, it’s really nice to meet you!” Jinna watched him closely before shyly grasping on to Zhengting’s hand and then gently tugging him to the tank, wordlessly she pointed towards some tiny hermit crabs scuttling around in the sand and looked up at him eyes bright. Zhengting smiled again, he just couldn’t help it she really was too adorable, 

 

“Do you want to hold one?” Jinna blinked a few times before nodding, clutching back onto the tank wall and trying to stretch herself over, Zhengting laughed at little before heading to the side of the tank where there were some booster steps stacked up, he placed one a little to the side of Jinna before tapping her on the shoulder, his arms outstretched, asking for silent permission to pick her up, she hesitated slightly, looking back at where Zhengting presumed Yanjun was standing before heading into Zhengting’s arms, he hoisted her onto the little box and stood securely behind her, making sure there was no way she could accidently slip off and hurt herself, once she was in proper reach, her tiny hands immediately dove into the water and brushed against the sand, trying to pick up one of the little crabs, Zhengting laughed softly again, leaning over he gathered her two hands together, forming a little cup before he scooped up a baby crab in his own hand then gently placed it into Jinna waiting hands, then he slowly raised her hands up so the crab was barely below the water, letting her have a really good clear look at it and the smile that lit up her face almost floored Zhengting with it’s sheer cuteness, 

 

“This is a baby hermit crab! Do you see it’s unusual shell,” Jinna nodded, little fingers stroking over the shell, “Well that’s because hermit crabs live in abandoned shells from other shell-wearing creatures! Then when they get bigger they move into bigger shells, so all hermit crab shell will be a little different! Isn’t that cool?” Nodding again, she gently released the crab she had hold of to scoop up another one, slightly bigger and in a new type of shell, she brought it upwards again, stopping just under the water like Zhengting had shown her before and giggling as the crab tickled her hands by scuttling around, she looked up at Zhengting and then back down at the crab, Zhengting smiled and cupped his hand around hers and they watched as it scuttled between the two of them, as they were watching, Jinna caught eyes on the small fish darting around in the tank, looking back up at Zhengting she seemed to be considering something, then in the softest voice,

 

“C-can I touch those too?” Zhengting beamed, he knew that he could get her to warm up to him, although from the way Yanjun seemed so worried he was expecting it to take longer, 

 

“Of course! You can touch anything in this little tank! Let’s try and catch one shall we?” Jinna nodded quickly, she had the same look of determination in her eyes that Yanjun got sometimes, not that Zhengting pays too much attention to that, and it was adorable. Again they gently let the hermit crab down and Zhengting cupped both of his hands around hers again, they kept them steady, waiting for the right moment when suddenly a fish swam into their waiting hands and Zhengting gently closed them, bringing them up, he slowly opened them so Jinna could see it clearer, she giggle again, as it gently butted against their hands little tail swishing, Jinna looked up smiling, 

 

“It’s cute…” Zhengting wanted to squeal and pinch her cheeks, the adorableness was  _ killing _ him but instead he just smiled and agreed, they were watching the fish again when suddenly he felt a pressure against his back, Yanjun was peering his head over his shoulder looking at Zhengting’s and Jinna’s hands, in his surprise Zhengting’s hands dropped from around Jinna’s and the little fish swam away, big, blinking eyes were looking up now, and Zhengting could feel his face heating up from the closeness of Yanjun behind him, Jinna looked from one to the other and Zhengting almost felt like she was seeing something he wasn’t because she just smiled and pointed to a crab,

 

“Look Uncle, Mr Ting said that these crab live in shells that were left behind by other creatures! That’s really clever don’t you think?” Now that Yanjun was close she seemed more comfortable, tripping over her words as she tried to tell him all that she had just been told, Yanjun just listened, making all the right reactions to her story but Zhengting couldn’t really hear any of it, brain still short-circuiting from the fact that Yanjun was still pressed behind him. He smelt really good. Was that Dior? Wait what the hell was he thinking, this is  _ Yanjun _ , the guy that constantly makes fun of him and his job, he can’t forget that just because he smells good and feels like a perfect fit against him… He needs to get a grip this isn’t happening to him, no way, not for Yanjun, not  _ ever _ . In the middle of his mental breakdown he felt a small hand tugging at him, looking down he realised Jinna had been trying to get his attention, 

 

“Mr Ting what are those?” He looked over to where she was pointing, in a small basket they had some examples of shark eggs, he reached over and took one out, passing it to Jinna he watched as she smoothed her hands over it, questioning expression on her face, 

 

“I bet your Uncle could tell you all about those!” He looked over his shoulder at Yanjun, waiting until he clicked as to what they were and trying not to blush when he felt his hands coming back around his waist to hold the egg with Jinna,

 

“Oh! I forgot you guys had these, these are shark eggs Jinna! They came from my baby sharks that Uncle raises here” Jinna’s mouth dropped open before turning to Yanjun, questions spilling out of her mouth at a mile a minute, about sharks, why are they born in eggs, can she see Uncle’s babies, if Uncle is the babies daddy then who is their mummy, that one in particular made Yanjun laugh so hard Zhengting wondered if he was going to stop breathing, but he couldn’t help laughing along as Yanjun tried to explain that he wasn’t actually the shark babies daddy, he just helped mummy and daddy look after them sometimes, after her questions had been mostly satisfied her eyes began wandering around again, before settling on the row of turtle tanks lining the opposite wall, she squirmed around to face them and tugged on Zhengting’s arm again, pointing at the tanks and then raising her arms up in a silent request of ‘pick me up please’, now usually Zhengting would try never to pick up children unless it was just to get them on and off step boxes, you know, health and safety and all that, but this was slightly different after all… he looked to Yanjun and he just shrugged, taking that as all the permission he needed he bent down slightly and hoisted Jina up into his arms, settling her against his hip he walked her over to the tanks, Yanjun following closely behind. Once at the tanks he bent his knees slightly, making sure that Jinna had the best view of the turtles as they crawled around in their habitats, she giggled as one of them mistepped and went splashing into the shallow pool behind it, shaking itself off when it crawled back up onto the sand, like before, she had a bunch of questions and Zhengting tried his best to give all the knowledge that he had but simplified in a way that she would understand, trying not to think to hard about the fact that Yanjun was behind him again and by some miracle actually being interested in what he had to say for once. Jinna was drinking in everything, tiny hands pressed to the glass, listening intently then asking more, sometimes Yanjun would chip in, with little bits of knowledge he had picked up from seeing the giant turtles that share the big tank with the sharks, and Jinna’s shining face looking between the two of them made some kind of weird feeling bloom in Zhengting’s chest and he couldn’t help but wonder whether it was just him feeling like this, whatever this was, or whether Yanjun was feeling different too… After she had seemingly asked all she wanted to know about the turtles, Zhengting could feel her twisting in his arms again, looking for the next thing she could ask about when her eyes landed on the final thing Zhengting’s zone had to offer, she gasped softly and tapped gently on Zhengting’s shoulder, 

 

“Please Mr Ting, can we go see them?” Zhengting beamed, when Yanjun had told him during the week that she had been excited to see his stingrays he had half expected her to make a beeline straight for them, the fact that she had also shown so much interest in all of his other babies made his heart swell, but even he couldn’t deny that he had a bigger soft spot for his beautiful rays than all of the rest. He carefully jumped her back up on his hip and started to carry her over when he noticed that Yanjun was keeping a fair distance, Jinna seemed to have noticed to because she stretched out a hand over Zhengting’s shoulder to reach for him, the conflict on Yanjun’s face as he looked between Jinna and the tank made Zhengting laugh, Jinna looked at him puzzled,

 

“I think your Uncle is a little scared since my mischievous little babies splashed him this week, but if you tell him to come closer I’m sure he will” Zhengting raised his eyebrows at Yanjun and smiled as he rolled his eyes, shuffling behind his niece and therefore behind Zhengting too, Jinna hummed happily, clasping her tiny hand on Yanjun’s shirt making sure he stayed with them as they got to the side of the pool but she quickly let go in her excitement of seeing the rays gliding past, cutting through the water with such grace. She squirmed a little and Zhengting laughed and put her down, watching as she raced to the edge and stretched her hand out, she quickly snatched it back though and looked at Zhengting with big questioning eyes, Zhengting smiled and went to kneel next to her, there were only 2 or 3 rays in the touch tanks and they got swapped out after every couple of hours so they didn’t get too overwhelmed but cownose rays liked being touched and the touch tanks are open for certain times in the year. Gently taking Jinna’s hand he dipped it into the tank, 

 

“Ok, so keep you hand nice and flat, like a high five, and then the rays will come to you!” Flattening her hand like she was told, they waited until slowly one of the rays swam over, dipping under Jinna’s hand and letting it brush across its back, she gasped again turning to Zhengting with the biggest smile on her face, turning back to the tank as the ray circled back and let Jinna touch it again, she was so happy, babbling to Zhengting about what was the ray called (“She’s called Fuli!”), how many rays did Zhengting have (“We have about 10 all together”) and could she stay here forever (“Your Uncle might get upset since he also has his shark family he wants you to meet~”), until she realised that her Uncle wasn’t by her side, pouting, she looked up at him and Zhengting could almost feel his trepidation. He smiled softly and took one of Yanjun’s hands in his, pulling him over to kneel beside him at the tank, slowly he guided his hand into the water, flattening out his stiff fingers and holding it there until Fuli circled back, first dipping under Jinna then gliding along until she was under Yanjun’s hand, he let out a small breath, looking up at Zhengting with that same wonder in Jinna’s eyes, he broke out into a smile as he felt Fuli under his fingertips again and Zhengting couldn’t help the clench in his chest, he looked so different like this, smiling brightly, eyes alight, he looked softer somehow, more approachable, like someone Zhengting wanted to know better. 

 

“See? They’re not so bad are they?” Zhengting’s voice was soft, he didn’t want this moment to break for whatever reason and he knew that when they snapped out of it that everything was going to change, well perhaps not for Yanjun since Zhengting was still convinced that the only reason he was being so nice was to keep face for his niece, but for Zhengting he knew it had become a problem, god damn Lin Yanjun and his cute lopsided smile and his dimples and his soft eyes. They jumped a little when they felt a small body squeezing itself in between their still interlocked arms, a tiny hand wrapping around one arm each a bright smile and a laugh shaking them from whatever that was that was going on between them, Yanjun turned his head away, to look at Jinna, but not before Zhengting had seen the small spread of pink flushing his cheeks, he didn’t know what to make of it but he was almost certain he probably looked the same. Yanjun cleared his throat, taking his hand from Zhengting’s and wiping it down on the paper towels provided, 

 

“Um, well, we should uh, probably get going in to another zone now, don’t want her to miss out on everything else after all” Zhengting nodded, shaking his hands off too and not daring to look at Yanjun in the eyes, instead crouching down next to Jinna and opening his arms out in an offer of a hug, to which she shyly accepted, burrowing into Zhengting’s shirt and wrapping her arms as far around his back as her tinyness let her. 

 

“It was so nice to meet you Jinna! I hope you had loads of fun today?” He could feel her nodding against his chest, “That’s good then! Now your Uncle’s gonna take you round the rest of the aquarium and you can see even more cool fish!” He pulled back a little so he could see her face, she looked a little disappointed, “You have to make sure to get your Uncle to bring you back and see me again ok? Let’s pinky promise on it!” Jinna stuck out her little pinky and Zhengting wrapped his around, shaking thrice he smiled, poking at her cheeks to make her smile too, “Ok it’s a promise! You can’t back out of a pinky promise so that means you’ll definitely see me again ok?” Jinna nodded enthusiastically and let Yanjun take her hand ready to lead on to the next section, 

 

“Bye bye Mr Ting! I want to come back and see the rays again so I’ll make sure that Uncle bring me again ok!” She beamed and waved at him before turning to go with Yanjun, just before heading through the door they stopped and turned again, Jinna waving a mile a minute and Yanjun avoiding his eyes before raising his hand in a quick wave too. Zhengting waved back, smile bright but eyes focusing solely on Jinna, not being brave enough to lock gazes with Yanjun for fears of what he’ll see, or not see. When they both left he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, steadying his nerves he turned to the two trainees, signalling he was going to go take his break now and to call him if they needed anything before disappearing into the back office hands trembling slightly, whatever he had been expecting to come out of today, somehow gaining feelings for  _ Yanjun _ was definitely not one of them. Zhengting was gonna blame on the fact he was here with Jinna, kids were his weakness and Yanjun seemed softer with her but that was to be expected after all, it was his niece and no matter how much of an asshole Yanjun usually is to him there’s no way he’d be like that around his niece, Zhengting was just reading way too much into it that was all, come monday he’d be the same old Yanjun again he was sure of it. 

 

* * *

 

 

Monday was awful. Everything that could’ve possible have gone wrong did, Zhengting ended up running late thanks to traffic, when he finally got to work Zhangjing was flapping because one of the rays had gotten sick and needed to be quarantined which cut even more into their setting up time,  _ then _ one of the trainees on the evening shift phoned in sick meaning that Zhengting would have to work the full day in order to make sure everything ran smoothly, to say he was stressed was an understatement and because of all this he hadn’t even had time to think about the weirdness that happened on the weekend. Well until Zhangjing cornered him about it in the break room after his shift was over that is.

 

“Well?”

 

“Well what?”

 

“What happened over the weekend, you know, you, Yanjun, Jinna?” Zhengting blinked at him slowly, Zhangjing had a weird kinda grin on his face but Zhengting was too tired to try and make sense of it right now. 

 

“What do you mean what happened with Yanjun, everything was fine… he was actually playing nice for once and Jinna was the sweetest little angel, I didn’t even think it was possible for Yanjun to have emotions let alone be that soft…” Zhangjing was smirking again, he didn’t like it, it looked untrustworthy and well-  _ sly _ .

 

“And Yanjun didn’t say anything?”

 

“Look, everything was just that, fine, I don’t really think there needs to be such a big deal made out of it ok?” Zhengting couldn’t help the small pout that came out with his words, because truth be told he was a little… Disappointed. He hadn’t even seen Yanjun today at all, let alone been able to talk to him about whatever weird little moment they had shared at the ray tank on Saturday, he knew Yanjun was here after all, I mean not that he’d checked the rotas or anything but the fact that Yanjun hadn’t bothered to seek him out spoke volumes to Zhengting that he just wasn’t interested in talking about what had happened and that was that. He had tried not be hopeful, in fact he wasn’t even sure why he was feeling so down and out about it either since it’s not like he’d looked at Yanjun that way until he’d seen him interacting with Jinna but there was just some kind of bitterness within him that he couldn’t shake. He was brought quickly back into the conversation by Zhangjing laughing and patting him on back, saying something about going to find Ziyi and forcing him to buy him dinner when he realised that standing at the break room door was Yanjun, looking as handsome as ever. God damn him. Zhengting twisted his hands in front of him, ok so maybe he had just been complaining that Yanjun hadn’t sought him out but now he was actually here he was at a loss for what to say. Yanjun looked just as awkward as he was feeling and they both just kind of stood there for a bit, neither of them saying anything, not wanting to be the first to say anything lest it was the wrong thing. It was past closing time now and from Yanjun’s schedule he may or may not have memorized he thought that now was around the time he would be checking on the baby sharks so why he was here was a mystery to Zhengting. Yanjun cleared his throat making Zhengting startle a little,

 

“So uh, I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Jinna the other day, she never usually warms up to people that fast so uh, I guess you really are good at your job after all.” Zhengting laughed, this was such a typical Yanjun thanks but he would take it at this point, not wanting the usual friction to return between the two of them after what happened on Saturday, he liked it, he’d finally admit it to himself but seeing a different side to Yanjun was nice, he liked it a lot and he didn’t want to go back to how they were. Instead he smiled at Yanjun, watching as his eyes darted nervously away,

 

“Thanks Yanjun, I appreciate it, she was so sweet too I’d love to see her again some time” Yanju nodded, balling his hands into fist and seemingly steeling himself for something,

 

“Uh, I don’t know if you have time right now but I need to go see to the babies… If you- if you wanna join me?” Zhengting looked up, shocked, Yanjun never let anyone near the babies apart from Ziyi and Xukun, always stating that only shark handlers should be allowed near them as they knew how to care for them best, the fact Yanjun was even offering was so out of character for him,

 

“Yeah,” Zhengting’s voice was soft, “Yeah I have time” Yanjun let out a breath, a small smile blooming on his lips, he nodded once and started out of the door, waiting slightly until Zhengting had caught up with him, they walked to the shark quarantine zone in silence, none of them seeming to want to break whatever mood this was, and it wasn’t until they were in front of the tanks that Zhengting let out a small gasp, eyes trailing after the little baby sharks happily swimming around, he could feel Yanjun’s eyes on him, gauging his reaction to the sharks, which Zhengting guess was kinda understandable since he’s only ever really showed contempt to sharks in the past but this felt different, the babies were cute, tiny compared to how they would eventually grow and Zhengting could help but feel an attachment to them already. Yanjun came up behind him and it felt like Saturday all over again, with him fitting against his back perfectly, the smell of his aftershave being replaced this time with brine but that just made it all feel more comforting to Zhengting, the smell of the ocean, the warmth of his chest, the few lights in the aquarium making this feel much more intimate than it really should. They stayed like that for a while, Yanjun’s warmth breath ghosting against the shell of Zhengting’s ear and his cheek, the sharks lazily swimming to and fro, occasionally bumping their little noses against the glass where they were stood, when Yanjun almost whispered,   

 

“Do you want to touch them?” Zhengting turned to him, almost as if not believing what he was hearing,

 

“The sharks? I thought that you didn’t allow anyone who wasn’t a shark handler to?” Yanjun blushed, and broke their gaze, 

 

“Well, you should be fine, since you know how to approach sea creatures anyway…” Before Yanjun could change his mind, Zhengting nodded,

 

“Yeah, I wanna touch them,” Yanjun smiled, he seemed relieved somehow, almost as if he was expecting Zhengting to say no. Luckily neither of them had changed from their uniforms yet so they wasted no time stepping into shallow section of the tank, Yanjun placing his hands on Zhengting’s waist to steady him and standing behind him so he could position his arms, 

 

“Ok so slowly, just like you would at the ray tank, let them come to you,” Zhengting flattened his palms, letting Yanjun guide them into the water, feeling grateful for his presence, because although he wasn’t anywhere near as scared with these little babies, they were still sharks after all and Zhengting couldn’t be quite comfortable just yet. Then, slowly a curious shark swam over to them, gently gliding under Zhengting’s palms and making him gasp, he turned to Yanjun eyes bright, their faces a mere few inches apart,

 

“It’s incredible…”

 

Yanjun softened, being this close Zhengting could see every emotion change that ran through his eyes but he wasn’t prepared to see it directed at him, he could feel a blush brighter than ever before spreading across his cheeks, and he couldn’t take his eyes away from Yanjun, not even when another shark brushed under his fingers, he wasn’t sure what he was waiting for but still he couldn’t help but hope for something, some kind of sign that this just wasn’t all him. 

 

“You’re really beautiful you know that? Every time i see you I’m struck by it… Zhangjing has been on my case for years about it but i just couldn’t help but say something mean whenever I saw you, I think, in some way it was me trying to protect myself from falling for you harder, I don’t think i could handle it if you rejected me,” he laughed bitterly, spinning Zhengting so he was facing him, faces still almost touching, “But when I saw you with Jinna, how you were so gentle, so caring, how quickly she opened herself to you… I couldn’t help myself anymore, that Saturday was possibly the greatest Saturday of my life but I’m so scared that it didn’t mean the same to you, after all why would you even like me after how I was to you all these years, but just know that I’m sorry Zhengting, I’m just an idiot that can’t handle feelings” Zhengting smiled, pressing himself even closer to Yanjun, finally closing those last few centimeters, feeling Yanjun’s slightly chapped lips against his own whilst baby sharks brushed against their legs was certainly an experience Zhengting would never forget, but Yanjun pulling him closer and deepening the kiss was all the answer he needed. For once they were both on the same page, even if they never would’ve thought in a million years it’d be one from some cheesy romance novel. When they finally broke apart, Yanjun rested his forehead against Zhengting, their breaths mingling to the sounds of gently swishing water, and Zhengting’s soft laughter,

 

“Yes, Lin Yanjun you are the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, but for now at least will you be my idiot and my idiot alone?” A second kiss, even more passionate than the first was definitely an answer that Zhengting was happy to take and he couldn’t wait to see the faces of their friends and co-workers when they find out about  _ this. _

 

* * *

 

 

“Morning nerd!” Zhengting rolled his eyes, hoisting Jinna further up his hip before leaning in to peck his boyfriend on the lips, Jinna squealed happily and kissed them both too, laughing as Yanjun pinched her cheeks softly. Zhengting smiled, and followed after his boyfriend towards the shark tanks,

 

“I can’t believe you made me come here on my day off Yanjun,” Yanjun gasped and pretended to look offended,

  
“Babe! How can you say such things! Today’s the day our babies are free to be released into the big tank and you’re telling me you wanted to miss it! Think of the children!” Jinna was cackling now as Zhengting rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time since agreeing to date this idiot 6 months ago, ok so maybe he had a little point, the baby sharks were finally old enough to join the main tank and he’d be sad to see them go, plus he got to spend the day with Jinna which he adored so he couldn’t truly complain, it was also worth it to see the misty eyed look his dumbass boyfriend got when he released them into the tank and watched them speed off to join their extended family, dabbing at his eyes a little while Zhengting laughed fondly. It was definitely worth it when Yanjun tackled the both of them and had Jinna squealing as he tickled her mercilessly, calling them horrible meanies for laughing at him during such an emotional time and if their co-worker were looking at them with those all knowing glances (apparently Ziyi, Zhangjing and Xukun had been betting for  _ years _ on when they’d both ‘get their heads out of their asses and date already’, those traitors.) then Zhengting just couldn’t care less. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you got through all of this then thank you i love you, also as usual you can hit me up on [ twt](https://twitter.com/ilyzzt) or [cc](https://curiouscat.me/ilyzzt) and also worth mentioning but i'm lowkey thinking of branching out into diff fandoms again so if you have a fandom you wanna see me write for let me know and if i feel comfy enough with the group then might just see that happen uwu


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